3He is an isotope of helium with applications in many different industries. 3He can be formed by beta decay of tritium.
One known source of 3He gas is the decay tritium in nuclear weapons. Another source of tritium is the irradiation of tritium producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs) within light water nuclear reactors.
Another source of tritium is heavy water nuclear reactors. Heavy water includes deuterium. Heavy water reactors, for example reactors that use heavy water as a moderator, coolant or both, may produce tritium as a result of thermal neutron activation of the deuterium in the heavy water. The heavy water can be detritiated, the tritium can be collected and 3He may be obtained as the tritium decays.
Demand for 3He may exceed the supply of 3He from known production and/or collection methods. 3He may be commercially valuable. Therefore, there remains a need for an alternative apparatus and/or system for directly collecting 3He.